El Teatro Felipe (1885-1891) .Prácticas dramático-musicales del teatro por horas

Résumé

The Felipe Theatre (Teatro Felipe) (1885-1891) represents one of the most significant places for summer entertainment in Madrid during the last third of the 19th century. Its name is synonymous with its owner, Felipe Ducazal, the theatrical empresario who wanted to offer comic repertoire during summer for those who stayed in the capital during that season. Thus, the teatro por horas (theatre by the hour) dominated from its construction until it was destroyed after Ducazal’s death. In this theatre, many plays were premiered, such as La Gran Vía, Los Valientes, El Chaleco Blanco, La Baraja Francesa or ¡Al Agua, Patos!, which are key references for the history of comic theatre, whether with or without music. The wooden building, situated next to the Jardines del Buen Retiro gate, is presented in this thesis as a way to know the dramatic-musical practices that were developed during this period. It’s not only about knowing Felipe’s movement, but about amplifying our understanding of how the teatro por horas used to work. This approach follows micro-history premises, as studying the summer theatre in detail, we aspire to understand better the previous general studies about the history of Zarzuela, specially a particular period framed during the development of what we call género chico. The idea that underlies the thesis is also about removing any bias or preconception in relation with the term de verano (summer) and present Felipe’s theatre as one institution more of the theatre network that existed in Madrid. In order to achieve this, in each chapter we will study a different season of the seven ones that were carried out, going deeper in the study of different aspects in each of them...